Boston Celtics at New York Knicks
· National Basketball AssociationKnicks stay alive in race for No. 2 seed in East, beat Celtics in Tatum's return to MSG
Tatum finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in his first game back on the Madison Square Garden court where he ruptured his Achilles tendon in last season's playoffs.
The Knicks (52-28) pulled within two games of the Celtics (54-26) for second place with two games to play for both teams. New York owns the tiebreaker after winning the season series 3-1 and would take the No. 2 seed with two wins and two Boston losses.
Hart made two 3-pointers in the final 42 seconds to give New York more wins this season under Mike Brown than in its 51-31 finish last season in Tom Thibodeau's final season.
The Knicks then knocked off the Celtics in the second round of those playoffs, helped by Tatum's season-ending injury in Game 4 of the series. He acknowledged some nervousness and anxiousness Thursday before playing again in the arena before finishing just shy of his second triple-double since returning to play last month.
The Celtics had their four-game winning streak snapped while playing without leading scorer Jaylen Brown, averaging 28.8 points, because of left Achilles tendinitis.
Payton Pritchard added 23 points and Baylor Scheierman had 20, going 6 for 7 from 3-point range.
The Knicks host Toronto on Friday in a possible playoff preview and close against Charlotte on Sunday. Boston hosts New Orleans on Friday and Orlando on Sunday.
Knicks: Host Toronto on Friday.
Regular Season Series
NY wins series 3-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 106 - 112 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 106 - 112 |
| 4th 0.5 |  |
Knicks defensive team rebound | 106 - 112 |
| 4th 2.0 |  |
Payton Pritchard misses 31-foot three point jumper | 106 - 112 |
| 4th 15.2 | |
Josh Hart makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jalen Brunson assists) | 106 - 112 |
Statistics
 BOS |
 NY |
|
|---|---|---|
| 38-84 | FG | 43-80 |
| 45 | Field Goal % | 54 |
| 16-43 | 3PT | 15-35 |
| 37 | Three Point % | 43 |
| 14-16 | FT | 11-15 |
| 88 | Free Throw % | 73 |
| 42 | Rebounds | 30 |
| 13 | Offensive Rebounds | 5 |
| 29 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 23 | Assists | 29 |
| 4 | Steals | 9 |
| 1 | Blocks | 2 |
| 10 | Turnovers | 7 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 11 | Total Turnovers | 7 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 14 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 8 |
| 12 | Fast Break Points | 9 |
| 32 | Points in Paint | 46 |
| 16 | Fouls | 17 |
| 7 | Largest Lead | 13 |
| 16 | Lead Changes | 16 |
| 38 | Percent Led | 49 |
Game Information
Location: New York, NY
Attendance: 19,812 · Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Boston |
56 | 26 | .683 | - | W2 |
 New York |
53 | 29 | .646 | 3 | L1 |
 Toronto |
46 | 36 | .561 | 10 | W1 |
 Philadelphia |
45 | 37 | .549 | 11 | W2 |
 Brooklyn |
20 | 62 | .244 | 36 | L3 |
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